Chapter 1(1)

The dark cloak of night hangs over the mountains, and thick clouds billow in the sky.

Four days ago, the Yuhunlu, which had been kept by Yunchui Palace for generations, was stolen from the palace by unknown persons. The next day, Situ Qin, the master of Yunchui Palace, committed suicide under the supervision of Qinggang Zhenren, the current head of Taoism.

Ye Ci walked towards the depths of the West Palace with heavy steps. In the dead of night, the lights on the corridors along the way were dying in the cold west wind, swaying the figure on the ground into a lonely wandering soul.He stopped and looked in the direction of the East Palace. Compared with the cold and empty West Palace, the East Palace, where a funeral was being held, was filled with lights, shadows and people. For this reason, he clenched his palms secretly.

According to the laws of the shrine, after each generation of palace lord dies, the high priest in the shrine must divine the location of the next reincarnated palace lord, and the priest will send his subordinates to greet him.But now, three days have passed, and none of the ten high priests and hundreds of priests in the palace have made fortunes. Instead, they have gathered in the East Palace, weeping together around Situ Qin's only son Situ Shuang. Situ Shuang, known as the young palace master, not only presided over the funeral in the palace with a shy face as a master, but also had the potential to replace the next palace master.

He actually wanted to steal the palace master position that didn't belong to him... The young palace master who had gathered the priests' faction, really thought that no one knew what he was doing secretly?

Before the palace owner Situ Qin committed suicide that day, Situ Qin had informed his priest Ye Run that the person responsible for stealing the Soul Reading Book out of the palace was none other than his only son Situ Shuang. For the crime of stealing the palace's treasure, Situ Shuang had to die. Although he was eager for his beloved son, he still chose to bear the responsibility and would rather lose his life than let the scandal of the palace be made public to the world.

Although Situ Qin's actions were selfish, for the sake of the shrine, Ye Run had to agree. If this matter was really told to the world, what prestige would the shrine have in the future?And how will the world view the shrine, which has always used medicine, divination, and witchcraft to save the world?The centuries-old reputation of the shrine cannot be destroyed by Situ Shuang alone.

So Situ Qin died, and Ye Run also had to die.

According to the system, the priests also adopt the reincarnation system. From generation to generation, they are paired in pairs. The relationship between the two can be called master and servant, or brothers. They are reincarnated together and manage the temple together. Therefore, in order to follow the palace master, once the palace master dies, the priest must also die.

Ye Ci gritted his teeth bitterly and kept asking in his heart...

Why?

Situ Qin had to bear the blame for his son, so why did his master Ye Run have to die in vain for Situ Shuang, a villain with low self-esteem and arrogance?Why should Ye Run's life be sacrificed just for Situ Shuang's greed?

He was just the son of the palace lord. He had no real power or strength. He was born too weak to engage in martial arts. He was not as talented in medicine or divination as the people in the palace. Apart from being the son of the palace lord, what did he think he was?He is obviously an outsider, but he wants to become the next new palace master in the name of inheriting his father's legacy after killing the palace master?He thought that the palace masters of the shrines were hereditary just like the human emperors?Just because he has such an unfair name, is he worthy to be compared with the noble reincarnated palace master?

He dreams.

Reaching out to push open the door of Qianyuan Hall in the West Palace, Ye Ci slowly raised his eyes and looked at the gods surrounding Ye Run in the hall. They all looked towards him with red eyes.Ye Ci felt that suddenly his feet were as heavy as stone, making it impossible for him to move forward.

"Xiao Ci, come here." Ye Run, who was wearing a formal priest's uniform, sat on a high seat and waved to him with a smile.

"...Master." Ye Ci responded hoarsely, dragging his feet towards him step by step. Every step and step under his feet seemed not to be the hall he was used to walking in, but the mud leading to his master's death.

"Change his clothes, and go get his things." As if he didn't see the sadness in his eyes, Ye Run turned to give instructions to the magicians beside him.

"Yes."

In the candlelit hall, a fifteen-year-old boy had tears hidden in his eyes. He stood in the hall and allowed the silent gods to put him into the official priest's robes, comb his hair again, and style his hair into a priest's unique bun. One of the two young gods, only fifteen or sixteen years old, was holding a jade plate with the priest's royal seal in his hand, and the other was holding a magic sword in both hands that symbolized the priest's status.

When everything was done, Ye Run motioned Ye Ci to come forward and kneel in front of the seat. He looked at the only disciple who had been brought up from childhood with satisfaction and gently touched his young face with one hand.

"My master is about to leave. As the next priest of the Shrine, the Shrine will be entrusted to you for the time being until a new master is found." Ye Ci was trained by him. He knew the child's abilities very well and was more assured of his composure.

Ye Ci bit his lip, trying not to let tears blur his eyes. He blinked frequently, trying to see his master's kind face as before, but at this time, the two little gods standing behind him couldn't help crying.

"Aww..." Songgang, who grew up with Ye Ci, was crying so hard that he could hardly hold the jade plate in his hand.

"I don't accept it. Why...why?" Shuo Fang, who had a more outspoken temper, couldn't help shouting at the top of his voice while crying, "How can those high priests come every day to urge Mr. Ye to die... Mr. Ye has done nothing wrong, how can they..." Thinking of the faces of those high priests, he wished he could go to the East Palace with a knife and chop off all the high priests who could not lift their hands or shoulders, but still sat in high positions.He didn't understand, this was a living person, how could they point at Uncle Ye's nose and keep telling him to die quickly so that they could accompany the deceased palace master?

"Stop talking." Ye Ci whispered to him.

"But..." Shuofang looked at him reluctantly, but unexpectedly saw deeper hatred in his eyes, and opened his mouth in confusion, forgetting what he wanted to say next.

"Master, please continue." Ye Ci took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, raised his head and said softly.

Ye Run reluctantly looked at his pretended to be strong. He knew that the person present who could not accept the news of his death the most and could not escape was Ye Ci, but he had no choice. The master died and the servant sacrificed himself. This was a rule that could not be violated in the past generations of the shrine. No matter how reluctant he was to let go of the young man in front of him, he had to let Ye Ci shoulder the burden alone, even if the future was full of thorns or storms.

"You let Xiao Xiao steal the throne, and you have to firmly guard the power of the shrine for generations." Situ Shuang's obvious ambition can be said to be unconcealed. But this shrine, how can he, an outsider, covet it?He also underestimated the rules passed down by this palace for hundreds of years.

"Yes."

Ye Run put a palm on his head, "As my teacher, I will pass on my lifelong skills to you. You must hold back."

"Master..." At this point, Ye Ci could no longer hold back. With the choking leaking from his tone, a fleeing teardrop fell from his eye.

"Good boy, remember, the future palace master needs you." Ye Run didn't give him any room to refuse. As soon as he finished speaking, he gathered up his inner strength. He first touched his ten life-saving acupuncture points, forcibly uprooted the martial arts foundation in his body, and forcibly initiated him.

The unique Yuan Power built on martial arts in the priest's body was like a torrent pouring down from the top of Ye Ci's head. While impacting his limbs and bones, it also rebuilt his sanity. The wisdom and law hidden in the Priest's Yuan Power passed down from generation to generationThen, it was as huge as the ocean tide, which was prematurely stuffed into his young mind. While enriching him, it also made his life worse than death. Strands of blood overflowed from Ye Ci's ears, and all the blood on his face faded, becoming pale and almost transparent.

The masters who surrounded the master and apprentice in the hall were either crying silently or closing their eyes tightly. No one wanted to look at Ye Run, who always had a smile on his face, and no one wanted to look directly at the young man who was forced to grow up overnight.

As time passed bit by bit, the people suffering in the palace never felt that time was so long. They did not know that between giving and receiving, which one suffered more heart-breaking pain and which one was more torturous.They could only open their eyes and watch helplessly. As the time of passing on the skills went on, Ye Run's hair gradually turned from black to snow-white, and Ye Ci's pale face gradually turned rosy. As the sky outside the palace lit up, Ye Run, who was originally as gentle as jade, became old and thin, while Ye Ci was full of vitality in his body. His original martial arts was still at the middle level of the sergeant level. He stepped into the early stage of the phase level in one go, and the inner energy contained in his body became more vigorous and steady.